By Malcom Cheney
This past Thursday night, in the Hopkinton High School athletic center, the Girls Varsity Basketball team had their first playoff game of the MIAA tournament. The 7th seeded Hillers defeated the 10th seeded Lakers of Silver Lake Regional High School.The game ended up with a Hillers victory by a score of 66-41. This success was not a surprise based on the success of the Hillers throughout the regular season. It was a hard fought game, but, in the end, fans, students, and players on the court saw that Hopkinton had the upper hand throughout the game.

Hopkinton finished the season with a 13-7 record, one of the best in recent years. The success of the Hillers was based greatly on the senior leadership of its captains, Abbie Lockwood and Kelly Sanborn, which coach Rita Atkinson called, “an essential part of our team chemistry.” Lockwood stated “We were concentrated and were ready for anything throughout the season; this gave us a good shot at a tournament birth and a run in the playoffs.” Lockwood also praised Coach Atkinson on her preparation for the tournament, “We went through practice hard over February break in prep for the tournament,” and “we felt that we were ready for any challenge.”

Sanborn credits the victory on a complete team campaign stating “it was a complete team effort; everyone played an important part in the victory. She also credits the teams offensive execution. “We ran our plays well and hit our shots when we had the opportunity.” Lockwood states “they were a good team but I think we got the better of them.” Needless to say this was an important and special victory for the ladies in green.

This past Saturday, the girls took on 2nd seeded Oliver Ames at their last away game. The game ended in a 62-35 defeat. Although the season came to an unfortunate end, this was a special season for Girls Basketball in Hopkinton, and is a season a Hiller Superfan is sure to remember.